The Coming Cloud – 2018 Trends

Everyone has heard of the Cloud, but Bessemer Venture Partners a Silicon Valley venture capital firm has heard of it even more. The firm keeps close tabs on its investments and currently researches 78 cloud companies that have gone public.

Keeping this data on these companies allows the firm to know who is performing better, in order to be able to advise properly on its private investments.

This data is compiled in an annual State of the Cloud report. In their resent 2018 report they came to a few conclusions for the year.

Blockchain Take Over.

Predicted to make a big impression for 2018 is blockchain, which is the digital ledger technology at the core of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

Bessemer believes that companies in the food, retail and aviation will use blockchain to help them

Blockchains will be useful to keep track of where food came from. If a food born illness occurs it will be helpful in tracking down the source.

For the aviation world, blockchains will make it easier to track parts for airplanes. This way they are more likely to get the high-quality parts they ordered instead of getting some lower grade counterfeit parts.

Payment Company Apps.

Companies like MindBody uses an in-app payment that is more convenient for both its customers and business owners. This app makes it so much easier that more and more companies will likely want it.

More software companies that will start offering payment processing for businesses, like Shopify and Service Titan uses.

Importance Of Company Culture

It’s no longer enough to have a great product. A company’s financial value will be very closely tied to its cultural values.

You will see more venture capitalist having their hands more in with the founders. With their financial incentives in mind, they will make sure that the founders are creating a more diverse, equal and professional work environment.

A good example of this Uber who’s CEO Travis Kalanich, who shows the world what toxic company culture looks like and it’s not good!

Voice Control.

Although things like the iPhone and tablets are very popular, voice control will be even more so.

As we search for more hands-free products, 2018 will see more software that relies on audio cues rather than visual cues. This will make the human/computer much easier and programs like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant will become more mainstream.

Serverless Computing.

Having servers sitting there is costly, imagine a world where servers in the cloud are only brought into existence at the very moment a piece of software needs them, and then disappear after it is used.

This serverless computing is a developer trend sweeping Silicon Valley right now.

An example is a translator app built using serverless technologies, where servers that translate might not even exist until the okay button is hit. Once you are done with the app it disappears with the results displayed on your phone.

Actionable Data.

Software will move away from just storing and repeating information, and will provide customers with recommendations and constructive critiques.

This will actually improve user’s work instead of just helping with it.

Not Just Silicon Valley Anymore.

The global startup capital is Silicon Valley but other cities and countries are taking a shot at it.

More companies outside of California will be creating exciting products and innovative cloud companies. Soon investors in the space will be seeing more pitches for the next great idea from elsewhere.

APIs All-Powerful.

It is believed that this tech, which lets programmers integrate their software and services with each other, more easily will continue to grow strong.

APIs make it so much easier for engineers to use technology that already exists and make it better by creating new tools to use with it.

For example, Shippo has an API that helps e-commerce companies ship their products.

Sonia Rina Landry is a passionate entrepreneur, speaker, author, and personal development coach. She is an outspoken advocate of the free market economy and has helped countless clients identify their core values, envision and realize goals that resonate with those values. She oversees several businesses online and offline.